


Island of Treasure

by TheManyFacesofJester



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 15:10:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7939294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheManyFacesofJester/pseuds/TheManyFacesofJester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobleman Benjamin Tallmadge is kidnapped by a strange crew of pirates and delves into a world rich with danger, secrets, and adventure. His expectations of his journey change drastically, however, when he finds himself falling for the dashing captain of the ship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is 500% the fault of anamolly02, who kindly suggested this idea for me to write. So, here we are!

A glaring sun greeted Benjamin Tallmadge as he exited his cabin aboard the Saint Maria. The salt-drenched sea air felt rich and wonderful as it filled his lungs. Ben took his time walking from his door to the head of the ship, leisurely enjoying the fresh breeze against his skin. Ben’s clothes hung looser than necessary, a recommendation from his doctor to promote easier breathing, so despite his status all Ben had on was a white shirt, a loose black jacket with gold trimmings and linings, long black pants and high black boots. His hair was tied into as neat a braid as he could manage on the ship, but in the wind he almost wished he’d left it down so it could sway with the breeze. Ben wondered if he would maintain this airy fashion even after he received proper treatment and medicine in Barbados. As he pondered how he would be when he was no longer sick, crewmembers traveled left and right alongside Ben, on their way to do work at all ends of the ship. Ben finally ended his walk at the front of the ship where he leaned over the side to look around. From everywhere bright blue sky and dark blue water surrounded the ship for miles and miles. All except one dot in the distance which was getting closer and closer. Ben recognized it as a ship, but wasn’t worried. They had seen two other vessels on their journey and all had gone smoothly both times.

“They’re coming awful close,” Ben mumbled as the ship came closer. Within thirty minutes the ship had come so close that it was almost right next to the Saint Maria. Ben stared at the ship quizzically before he heard gunfire and was forced to duck.

“Pirates!” someone shouted, followed by more gunfire. Suddenly there was a howling of noise as several people from the other ship swung over to board the Saint Maria. Three were women and two men, all of whom were armed with a sword and a gun, both of which were being used liberally in the ensuing firefight. One of the men was shot in the arm, but he merely switch hands and used his left to fight with his sword. The other man used only his gun, never his sword, and spent more time looting the men he shot than he did shooting anyone. The three women had split up and were taking alternate sides of the ship. One had gone below deck, one to the front of the ship, and one to the rear.

People emerged from all sides of the ship to defend it, while others disappeared to hide in cabins. Ben hit the deck as the shouting grew louder. Blood began to leak onto the wooden floorboards and Ben found himself shaking as he struggled to avoid it as he crawled on the deck. As he neared his cabin, however, he heard a thud followed by footsteps. Looking up he was able to see a heavier man with a dark beard and a tricorn hat walking quickly across a plank that had been set between both ships for access across. The pirate began shooting his gun as soon as he got close enough, then began pushing those who tried to cross the plank overboard with ease and grace. Within seconds of him crossing onto the ship the battle was over and the Saint Maria had been taken.

“Crewmates,” the bearded pirate said when all was quiet. “Take everything they’ve got.”

This order was followed by a something akin to pandemonium as two of the women and the two men gathered up everything of value on the ship. The woman who had gone to the basement had emerged with two chests full of gold and fine clothes. It took only minutes for the crew to gather everything from the ship, during which the body-looter began to remove valuables from those still standing.

“Captain,” he called when he arrived at Ben, who was still on his hands and knees against the side of the ship. He pulled Ben up to his feet and showed him to the bearded man. “He’s got a lot of fine clothes on.”

The captain of the pirates looked Ben over remarkably slowly, running his eyes up and down over and over again.

“What’s your name?” he asked. Ben didn’t think it wise to answer, but he also didn’t think it a good idea to remain silent.

“I am Benjamin Tallmadge,” he replied, taking this time to also look over the man before him. He had dark brown hair on his head and face, which had been tanned in excess from exposure to the sun. On his body he was wearing a long brown coat over a tan shirt with a burgundy scarf tied around his waist. The only word Ben could find to describe him was remarkable.

“Your name sounds… expensive,” the pirate said with a grin. The other pirates nodded as they carried chests and boxes to the ship. “How about we cash in on that name, hmm?”

“Excuse me?” Ben said, offended and frightened.

“Rob, take him aboard.”

“No!” Ben protested as the looting pirate called Rob gripped his arm and pushed him forward. Ben pushed and kicked the man behind him before he felt a gun at the back of his head.

“Walk, please,” Rob said, and gave Ben a slight push. He walked with the pirate, but also turned his head to look back at the crew of the Saint Maria. None of them seemed to care much that he was being taken. Better him than them.

Walking across the wooden plank, Ben thought back to the tales he had heard of pirates. Everyone knew of them, but he had heard that they attacked ships carrying goods and cargo, not people. The seas must be dry for them to raid something that would earn them so little. Either that, or they were doing it just to prove that they could.

“Let me go!” Ben cried when he arrived on the ship. Rob tied his hands behind his back and dropped him to his knees before the captain and the rest of the crew, who had arrived on board, pulling the plank of wood with them. One of the women ran from the side of the ship to the wheel. The rest of the crew nodded to the captain then ran to their posts, getting the ship sailing again before the crew of the Saint Maria could do anything about it. There was light gunfire as the ship pulled away, but Ben knew they were nothing more than shots out of anger. No one was coming to help him.

“You can’t do this to me!” Ben said, stupidly, having run out of sensible things to say.

“Bit weird of you to say, seeing as we did and already have,” the captain said playfully.

“I have done nothing to deserve this and I have nothing of value to offer you!”

“You have that handsomely expensive name, though,” the captain said. “All we have to do is write to your dear, wealthy parents who _do_ have something of value to offer us. You understand?”

“Do I understand that I am being held hostage for a ransom. Yes, I think I can work that one out!” Ben spat.

“Alright, just checking,” he said as he wandered off. “Duchess! Stop us at the nearest port! We have a letter to write to our new companion’s family!”

“Aye, captain! We’re already on course!” the woman called Duchess shouted back. She was who Ben presumed to be the First Mate, given how she was in fact steering the ship. Her long brown hair was tied up in a red scarf that framed her tan face. She had on a tan shirt with a red waistcoat and sensibly wore a pair of brown pants and high boots.

“Princesa! Rob! Our finest cell for our special guest!” the captain said, calling over the man who had brought him onto the ship and the woman who had stolen the chests from the lower deck of the ship. Rob was tall with trimmed brown hair, pale skin, and the most average attire of them all. He was wearing black pants, black shoes, a black shirt and waist coat and no hat. Ben wondered how he wasn’t dying of heat in all of that. The woman, Princesa, had long black hair that hung loose across her dark face. She had on pants and shoes that matched the rest of the crew, but she had on a colourful one-sleeved shirt that had an intricate pattern woven into it. The pair made their way over and lifted Ben by each other his arms before dragging him, kicking and shouting into a cell bellow the deck.

Once the pair of pirates had left Ben began to try and work his way free of the binds that were still on his hands. He coughed as he struggled against them, trying to work his fingers through the loops, but to no avail. Still, he wriggled and pulled for as long as he could, but it wasn’t long before his breath faltered and he had to stop in the midst of a coughing fit. It was then that Ben had no choice but to do nothing but sit and try to come to terms with what had just happened to him. It had all occurred so quickly that Ben wasn’t even sure if it was real or not. It couldn’t be. It had to be an elaborate dream. He could not have just been kidnapped by pirates.


	2. Chapter 2

“Bring him up to the deck.”

Ben had fallen asleep in his cell again. He wasn’t sure how long he had been trapped aboard the ship, but it couldn’t have been more than a few days, so Ben wasn’t entirely sure why they would be bringing him up. Being in a cell was frightening enough, but he was greatly afraid of being tortured or injured for fun by the crew. Pirates, as far as he knew, were all evil sadists.

The dark woman with the colourful clothes and the light man in the dark clothes appeared before Ben’s cell and maneuvered the keys. The woman, whom the captain had called Princesa, had brought Ben food twice, and the man named Rob has been the one to undo Ben’s bonds through the bars of the cell. They seemed to have at least some kindness in them.

As soon as they opened the cell door the pair reached in a grabbed one of Ben’s arms. They didn’t seem to be particularly afraid of Ben though. Even if he did make a break for it, where would he go? He was on a ship full of pirates, after all.

“Why do they called you Princesa?” Ben asked the woman. He wasn’t sure why he said it, besides the fact that he was curious. Maybe he just wanted someone to talk to him.

“Because I am one,” she said in a conversational manner. “I was a princess back home before my island was taken by colonists. They called me Princess Abigail then. I went by Abbie for a while, but the Pirate King thought I should be referred to by my rank. He says I am royalty no matter who has my land.”

“Oh,” Ben said. Normally he wouldn’t have believed a story like that, but she had so much warmth and honesty in her voice that Ben didn’t doubt her for a second. He did, however, take issue with the Pirate King title, which he knew was referring to the captain of the ship.

“He’s not an actual king though,” Ben said. “The captain that is. What right does he have to give himself that title?”

“He didn’t,” Rob replied. “The crew gave it to him. Well, some of them. I thought it was gaudy, but they claimed he needed a name that would spread across the world, so one was chosen. I wanted to go with The Fearsome Swordsmith.”

“It was a nice idea, Rob, but the Pirate King just has a better ring to it,” Princesa said kindly. Rob nodded, but his facial expression didn’t change.

“Good morning Princesa, Rob, and of course Benjamin!” the captain, or rather the Pirate King proclaimed with a smile as the three ascended towards the head of the ship. Ben did not justify his greeting with a response, but allowed himself to be dropped to his knees before him.

“Doing alright?” he asked, and he sounded almost genuine.

“Do I look like I’m doing alright,” Ben said in response.

“You don’t look dead!” the captain said before lifting Ben up with one arm and casually pulling him to sit at a desk which had on it a black piece of paper and a quill in an inkwell.

“So, here’s the thing, we need your family to actually believe the letter, which means we need you to write it. So, I’ll dictate what you need to write, and you write it. Then we send it off, get our money, and you can head on home to do whatever it is you do with all that money and luxury. Sound fair?”

“What part of any of this is fair?” Ben asked as blunt as possible. This was followed by the sound of laughter from Duchess, who was relaxing in a chair across a ways away with the woman and man who Ben didn’t know the names of yet. It was only when Ben noticed that the whole of the crew was sitting around that he realized the ship wasn’t moving. They must have docked.

“Alright, good point,” the Pirate King said with a dancing smile. “The phrasing on that was my fault. Does that seem _reasonable_? How’s that?”

“No,” Ben objected. “It’s not reasonable, or rational, _or_ fair.”

“Listen, can you just work with me here,” the captain sighed. “I’m being as nice as I know how to be and you’re not really reciprocating any of that kindness-”

“You kidnapped me and are holding me for ransom, you thick cow,” Ben shouted, to the uproarious laughter of the rest of the crew. “But you’re right, let me just step out of my way because you decided to be a nice kidnapper.”

“Write the note,” the Pirate King said firmly, pushing the paper to Ben and holding out the quill. Ben opened his mouth to say something else, but he noticed the heavy sword on the Pirate King’s belt and decided against it. Instead he listened quietly as the captain dictated what to write and then signed his name to the bottom, under which the captain signed The Pirate King in large letters. The letter was then sealed with a skull and cross bone design and handed to the woman Ben didn’t know yet. She had short blond hair that curled into her freckled face and she wore a wide brimmed hat with several colourful feathers. She was dressed the most feminine of the bunch, with a long, torn white shirt and a billowing white shirt that was held in place by a corset that only went around her stomach. The man beside her was a short fellow with long, tied-back hair. He was dressed the plainest of everyone, with a loose brown shirt, dark brown pants with a thick belt, and high boots. He had no other adornments on him.

“Sweetheart, have this sent out as quick as you can. Cabbage, take whatever you need to bring and get us some fresh food on this godforsaken ship. Princesa and Duchess, go sell some of the shit we got. And Rob, go steal me something. I’ll keep watch this time.”

There was a chorus of farewells and luck wishing as each member left the ship in turn. Duchess and Princesa took longer to get out of the ship as they were carrying sacks with the items from the chests transferred over. Before long, however, Ben and the Pirate King were left alone. Ben had expected to be put back in the cell before everyone left, but the captain hadn’t ordered it, and none of the crew had suggested it, so he had remained where he was.

Waves slapped against the side of the ship and a wild wind whipped everything in sight as Ben and the captain sat in silence. The sea air felt different that day than it had his final day aboard the Saint Maria. Everything had felt sweet and pure. Now the air felt stale and Ben longed to be rid of it. He wanted to be somewhere safe and far from the sea.

“You like oranges?” the Pirate King asked, getting up from the table to collect a piece of fruit from a bowl a distance away.

“No.”

“Suit yourself,” he muttered as he began to peel it.

There was silence again as Ben just listened to everything around him. The waves and the air were polite noises, but Ben’s calm was being interrupted by the sound of the captain’s chewing. It began to irritate Ben to such a degree that he preferred conversation.

“What’s with the nicknames?” Ben asked finally. This prompted an end to the captain’s noisy chewing, which was a relief on all accounts. The captain laughed and propped his feet up on the table when he returned to his seat across from Ben.

“Well, they all mean something.”

“Princesa is because Abigail is a princess,” Ben said with a lazy attitude. “Is Duchess actually a duchess?”

“She was,” Caleb explained. “But Anna ended up falling in love with someone who wasn’t her husband and when the truth came out both of them left her company and blamed her entirely for everything and she was thrown out of society completely. So she came along with us.”

“Duchess is a duchess and Princesa is a princess, so I have to assume Cabbage is in fact a vegetable.”

The Pirate King laughed so hard he ended up choking on a piece of the fruit he was eating.

“No, he was a farmer!” he said between wheezes. “Abe was a cabbage farmer for the King, but they took his land from him when he had an off-season and couldn’t pay his taxes. Sweetheart Mary’s his wife.”

“Why do you call her Sweetheart?”

“Cause she’s not, but everyone thinks she is. Crazy bitch burned the whole house down when she heard they were taking it from her just so they wouldn’t have it. She’s a fucking delight.”

“Right,” Ben nodded. “Duchess, Princesa, Cabbage, Sweetheart, Pirate King, and… Rob?”

“He steals.”

“Ah.”

“His name’s also Robert. It was the easiest nickname in the world.”

“So, he’s with you because he’s a thief?”

“No, actually,” the captain said. “Rob was a tax collector back where he was from and everyone unanimously hated him for that so he skipped town and joined us. He still plays the Tax Collector sometimes if we’re short on gold. People’ll give anything to anyone dressed in black. Figure they’re either with the church or the law.”

Ben gave a sigh and leaned back in his chair. A Shamed Ex-Duchess, an Island Princess, a Failed Farmer and his Pyromaniac Wife, and a Tax Collector. He wasn’t exactly reassured by what he had learned during the course of this conversation.

“You got any nicknames?” the Pirate King asked Ben.

“Have you got a real name?” Ben retorted.

“You’ll have to earn that, I’m afraid.”

“I don’t plan on being here long enough for that.”

Caleb nodded like that was a good response, then continued with his original line of questioning.

“No one ever called you anything but Ben?”

“Ben _is_ a nickname,” he explained in the same way an adult speaks to a young child. “It’s a derivative of Benjamin.”

“Alright, fair enough,” the captain agreed. “But you need something cleverer. I’ll think on it and get back to you.”

“Fantastic,” Ben said dryly, turning his head to look at the ocean. “I hope you tell me right before you kill me.”

“We’re not gonna kill you, Ben. You’re not worth anything to us dead.”

“Am I supposed to believe everything you say and trust you completely?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” Caleb said. “I’m a pirate, but I’m not evil.”

“You killed a lot of people on that boat,” Ben argued.

“No, no, we shot a lot of people. Pushed some people in the water. But if anyone died it wasn’t entirely intentional. We just wanted the valuables from the ship and everyone’s person.”

Ben rolled his eyes, but to be fair, he hadn’t actually seen anyone die. It was just as the captain had said. They shot and pushed, but he didn’t remember seeing any bodies besides the ones of those of the injured.

“So what’s your story?” the captain asked, chewing gratingly on his orange.

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Ben said, and the captain laughed again. He did that a lot. Ben watched each time he did it with intrigue. The captain would throw his head back and stretch his smile across his face. It made Ben feel warm all over to watch him act so amused and he couldn’t quite tell why. Maybe he was just friendlier than Ben had expected.

“I mean, I didn’t have to tell you anything about my crew either,” the Pirate King said.

“But you did,” Ben retorted. “Your mistake.”

He was laughing again, this time clapping a hand on Ben’s shoulder.

“I like you, Ben. I like you a lot!”

“You’re not dreadful.” Ben hadn’t meant to say that. It just slipped out. But it was true. There was nothing inherently unlikable about the captain, or even his crew, aside from the fact that Ben was being held hostage by them. But he also hadn’t been tortured or abused aside from that, so he supposed it could have been worse.

Caleb was going to reply, likely with some comment he found witty and endearing, but Cabbage and Rob arrived around the same time, each carrying something with them. In Cabbage’s case it was a wheelbarrow full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and assorted meats. Meanwhile Rob had with him an armful of valuable looking plates that he had obviously taken without paying for. The Pirate King rose and greeted both of them with smiles and laughter, looking over what they had gotten and putting away what needed to be. Ben considered, for a second, bolting off the ship while all three of them were distracted. But he missed his chance when Cabbage came up behind him and tied his hands to the chair.

Sweetheart came not long after, busying herself with adding a new feather to her hat. She and Cabbage sat down in one chair, the woman on top of the man’s lap as she stuck the feather in and they told each other about their day. Ben did nothing but watch the crew interact with one another around him. He had been wrongfully anticipating torture when he was brought up. Instead he was witnessing the domestic life of pirates, which was a rather disenchanting yet appreciable scenario in its own right.

By the time Princesa and Duchess got back the sun had fallen in the sky, leaving an orange haze over everything. The ocean looks like juice instead of water and wind kicked up waves higher than before.

“I got us a map to England,” Duchess proclaimed when she made it on board the ship. “Just in case we ever need it.”

To be sure, Ben was no cartographer or great navigator, but even from a distance Ben could tell the map wasn’t right.

“That doesn’t lead to England,” Ben said much too matter-of-fact for his current position.

“What do you know about it?” Duchess said more than asked.

“I live in England. I know a map to it when I see one. The distances between where that map claims you start at and where England is supposed to be is too small. England is a lot further from here than that claims.”

The Pirate King and his crew studied the map and said a lot of words Ben didn’t understand in regards to navigation of sea travel.

“Duchess I think he’s right,” the captain said in a gentle sort of way. “The distance is too small.”

“Damn,” the woman muttered. “It cost me too. I actually paid for it. Lousy bastard.”

“Hey, listen, it’s alright,” the captain continued. “We don’t even need a map to England, and Rob stole enough to cover the cost, so everything’s even, alright?”

As he spoke, the Pirate King waved around the map, and as chance would have it he placed it directly in the sunlight at the exact moment Ben happened to be looking at it.

“Can I see that?” Ben said suddenly.

“The… The map?” the Pirate King said quizzically. “It’s just a fake map. It doesn’t go anywhere.”

“I think it might,” Ben said. “If you untie me I can show you.”

“Untie you?” Rob didn’t seem keen on that idea. “Is this a new elaborate escape plan?”

“I was untied the whole time you were gone and I didn’t try to run then, so why would I now?”

“He’s got a point,” Princesa said, her eyes following the map, trying to see what exactly Ben could that they couldn’t.

The captain shrugged his shoulders and cut Ben’s bonds before hesitatingly handing him the map. As he did so Ben help it up to the light. When he did, several marks appeared on the paper that hadn’t been there before.

“Jesus Christ,” the captain muttered.

Where the map had previously had very minimal markings, it was now covered in a series of marks at different spots. The marks appeared in large chunks in different spots, so Ben assumed they were detailing instructions about what to do at a certain location, but the letters all looked half finished; like scratches. In the corner, however, there was a set of full letters, only they were in Greek, which by fate’s hand Ben happened to know.

“The sister maps joined, through sunlight or flame, will lead the bearer to an Island of Treasure beyond all compare,” Ben read aloud.

“You can read that?” the Pirate King asked.

“It’s Greek. My tutors taught me,” Ben explained quickly. “But what does that mean?”

“It’s an old technique,” Caleb began, taking the map from Ben’s hands to look at it himself. “There’s two maps, each with a different half of the markings on it. When you put one map over the other and hold it to a light source the directions are revealed.”

“Right, well then, where’s the other bloody map, Duchess?” Cabbage asked, shooting a look at the slightly awe-struck woman.

“That was it, only map there. There weren’t any more in the shop. I looked too, even asked!”

“Wait!” Sweetheart cried out, catching up with the conversation. “Abe, you remember what that Kingsman said back in Morocco? About a man with one half of a sister set of maps?”

“I think… Yes,” Cabbage said at last. “Yes I do. It was a- a Simcoe! Captain John Simcoe! His fellow Kingsmen say he never shut up about another map he needs to find an Island of Treasure! I thought he was just delusional though. Shit like this doesn’t actually happen, does it?”

“Ladies, Gentlemen,” the captain announced delightfully. “We’re going treasure hunting!”

There was celebrating aboard the Patriot that night as the crew drank and made all kinds of merry at their good fortune, all while making plans to get the other half of the map.

“Last I heard,” Sweetheart explained, “John Simcoe was in Barbados. He’s got some manor there where he holds a lot of events and dances.”

“Do you think he’d still be there?” Rob asked.

“It’s worth a shot to check it out,” Princesa said. “What have we got to lose? We have all the time in the world!”

“Barbados it is!” the captain agreed and they drank again to their good fortune.

“Does that mean you can let me go now?” Ben asked, softly at first but his voice grew so he could be heard. That shut the lot of them up. “If you’re about to find an Island of Treasure you won’t be needing a ransom from me. I’m not worth that much anymore. You can just drop me of here and I’ll be on my way.”

“Funny thing is,” Caleb started in a way that told Ben this was not going be funny at all, “this map is probably gonna be written entirely in Greek, and unfortunately you’re the only one here who knows how to read that. So if we wanna find this Island of Treasure we sort of need to keep you around.”

“That’s not fair!” Ben shouted. “You can find anyone to read Greek for you!”

“Yes, but we can’t get anyone else who can’t run off and get to it before us,” Cabbage added. “You’re stuck here, so we know for sure you’re not going to get there first.”

“Another thought,” Rob chimed in. “We need someone to get us into Simcoe’s party once we get there. Even without us looking and acting like pirates, he’s not going to let just anyone into his home. But a nobleman from England will be more than welcome, I’m sure!”

“I’m not going to get you into anywhere!” Ben shouted.

“For your freedom you might,” the Pirate King said like a dream. Ben felt hot breath coming in and out of his mouth as he fumed at the lot of them. Rolling his eyes, Ben fell back into his chair and worried his bottom lip until it bleed.

“Bring him back downstairs,” the captain ordered, and without question Rob and Princesa each had an arm. When the cell door locked and the pair disappeared, Ben found he had never been happier to be by himself.


	3. Chapter 3

There was no point, according to Ben, in counting the days he had been aboard the Patriot for, seeing as he slept most of the time anyway and honestly wasn’t sure how much time was passing. Ben didn’t have much else to do besides, but being trapped in the cell below deck wasn’t helping his illness and he found himself stuck between sleeping and coughing with little else occurring in between.

Princesa came and brought Ben food frequently, though Ben didn’t see her most days. She came while he was sleeping more often than not, and if she did come when he was awake they made very little conversation. It was only after quite a while that she began asking him questions about his unusual sleeping patterns. Ben nodded to all of this but didn’t offer any further explanation. He didn’t owe anyone on this ship anything.

“Good morning,” Ben heard someone say as his eyes opened. “Actually, it’s almost evening. You’ve been out for the whole day.”

“How would you know that?” Ben asked the Pirate King, who was sitting cross-legged outside of the cell. A hazy golden sunset was leaking in through the door to the deck, which the captain had apparently left open.

“Because I’ve been waiting for you to get up for just as long.”

“Why?”

“I wanna talk,” he said, and he sounded serious. “Princesa says you’re sleeping an awful lot. I told her it was probably because you didn’t have anything else to do, but we started being able to hear you coughing from up on the deck a few days ago. You sounded awful this morning before you went back to sleep.”

Ben nodded his head and laid back down. He wasn’t sure where this conversation was going and he didn’t particularly care anyway. When the captain spoke again it was softer.

“Why were you going to Barbados?”

“Why do you care?” Ben muttered.

“Are you sick, Ben?”

“Do I look healthy?” Ben snapped, jolting up from his inclined position. “Fine, you know what, yes, I am sick. I was headed to Barbados to get medicine to try and get better and then you and your crew decided to kidnap me and chuck me in a dark cell on your awful ship. I was actually doing better before you brought me here and now I’m worse than when I started. It’s going to be a shame for both of us in a few weeks because, as you so kindly put it, I’m not useful to any of you dead.”

The captain seemed unsure how to respond to that.

“You could have told us you were sick.”

“Sure, why don’t I go and give my captors a reason to kill me without even bothering with asking for ransom!”

“I told you already, we’ve never had any plans to kill you!”

“I’m dying here anyway, so it doesn’t matter what you wanted!”

“Ben,” the captain sighed. “You’re not going to die here. Listen, we’re headed to Barbados anyway. When we get there I’ll get you whatever medicine you need for the rest of the journey. As soon as you read the instructions on the map and set us on course we’ll let you go right there.”

Perhaps Ben might have said something, and objection or retort, but he became so lost in a fit of coughing and wheezing that he couldn’t speak. The Pirate King let him cough for several minutes before realizing Ben wasn’t stopping. Within seconds he produced water from one of the barrels and opened the cell door. Ben drank the water as best he could and slowly, but surely, the coughing subsided. There was an expectation that the captain would leave Ben after he calmed down, but instead the captain led Ben out of the cell and up towards the main deck.

Fresh air filled Ben’s lungs again as they emerged into the evening light. There was anger in his body, raging at being taken in the first place, but there was relief as well. The captain was promising him the medicine he needed and he was bringing him to the deck.

“Is he alright?” Cabbage called from somewhere above Ben.

“He needs some fresh air,” the captain called back.

“About time,” Princesa called from the rear of the ship. “He’s been coughing up a storm down there all week.”

Princesa came closer to get a better look at Ben.

“He’s sick, isn’t he?” Princesa whispered as she used the back of her hand to check Ben’s forehead. The Pirate King only nodded. “He’s not well enough to go back down there,” she said even softer.

“He’ll be staying with me then!” the captain said with that warm smile on his face.

“You?” Ben gasped. “Why can’t I stay with Lettuce?”

“It’s Cabbage!” a voice called from above.

“He knows, Abe! He’s being facetious!” Sweetheart shouted as she emerged from an upper deck room with several trays of food balancing on top of one another.

“Because it’s not his job to keep watch over you,” the captain said, “it’s mine. So, you stay with me.”

Ben still looked at the whole ordeal as something unpleasant.

“You can board with me or go back to the cell below deck. Those are really your only options,” the Pirate King sighed, taking a tray of food from Sweetheart who was making rounds passing them around to each crew member as she was able.

“You say that like you’re not able to let me go,” Ben started, then stopped when a tray of food came down in front of him, muddling his thoughts.

“Let you go where?” the captain laughed. “In the middle of the ocean? If you really want to pitch yourself off, then I guess you’re welcome, but I wouldn’t advise it!”

Some chuckles traveled through the crew, but the captain was correct. At this point Barbados would be the closest port and Ben was already promised his freedom there anyway, as long as he did what he was asked. So, Ben sighed and rolled his eyes and ate what had been placed in front of him. It was nicer on the deck, because of the air, but also because he could see where they were going, and just know what was going on. Abe was up fixing or adjusting the sails almost until the sun set completely. Then he came down and joined his wife so they could eat together. Rob took over steering the ship for Duchess after he finished eating so she could. Princesa ate quickly after tending to Ben then disappeared somewhere below deck to accomplish some necessary task or another and emerged much later with several maps and other assorted written parchments that she handed to the captain to look over. Ben had to marvel at how organized the ship was. It was a small crew, but that was one of the better parts of the ship. There was a pattern to everything; a routine that only worked because everyone trusted one another. The crew was a family of sorts.

Long after the sun had disappeared below the sea, the captain helped Ben to his feet and led him to an upper deck suite that had to be the captain’s quarters. He led him with some force while they were on the deck, but he softened up once they were inside.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked once they were inside and the door was shut.

“No,” Ben answered quickly. There was a beat before Ben sighed and dejectedly replied: “I’m better than I was this afternoon.”

The Pirate King didn’t say anything. He just nodded and began to shrug off his clothes. It took all of a few seconds for the captain to take everything except his pants off.

“You can take the bed. I’ll take the couch,” the captain said, pointing to a richly decorated bed of red with gold ornamentation, then to a couch on the other side of the chambers which was decorated in a totally different style of emerald green and silver. Ben imagined he had stolen both of them at different times, though he wasn’t sure how you steal a bed. Regardless, Ben moved to the bed without complaint, though his eyes followed the captain as he meandered about the room, blowing out candles and putting his things away. Yet he made no movement to put on any more clothes than the pants he still had on and Ben felt sure that he didn’t want him to anyway. The captain had a sort of elegant disgrace to him, as though he had created a style of walking that no one could imitate; he walked like he ruled everything he saw; he walked like a king.

“You’re being awfully generous for a captor,” Ben mumbled as he laid down on the bed. He was anticipating a smart sort of remark from the Pirate King, but instead he heard:

“Just go to sleep,” and watched the room turn dark as the last candle went out.


	4. Chapter 4

“You’d think I’d have run out of feet for you to trod on by now, Cabbage!” Duchess complained as they danced across the deck. During the course of their journey Duchess had reminded everyone that while Ben could get them in, they had to actually act the part of people worthy of his companionship, the phrasing of which Ben found particularly diplomatic. This statement had brought on a slew of questions and concerns regarding how one acts like a member of civilized society, the most important being ‘how to dance’, seeing as it was a ball that Simcoe would likely be holding. Dancing lessons began soon after, but since Duchess was the only one who knew how to dance, progress was moving slowly.

“Sweetheart, you’re doing much better, can you please show Cabbage what you learned because my feet can’t take this anymore!” Duchess all but threw Cabbage at his wife, a move which prompted him to immediately step on Sweetheart’s foot.

“New rule,” she said without hesitation. “Every time you step on my foot, I get to punch you in the arm.” Cabbage didn’t step on her foot once when they started dancing, leading Bento believe that a hit from Sweetheart was something to be feared as well as respected.

After a short while, however, Cabbage and Sweetheart switched off with Rob and Princesa, who had been previously running the usual maintenance of the ship. Rob had made exactly no progress whatsoever in his dancing skills, but Princesa actually appeared to have gotten worse. She laughed and smiled the whole time, though, which Ben knew would keep any wealthy dance partner in good spirits regardless, since her personality was infectious. Duchess danced with Princesa, then left her to practice footwork and went to help Rob, then went back again. She looked flustered, but not exhausted. She seemed in her element, teaching others the airs and graces of the society she had been removed from.

All of this Ben watched from the window of the captains room, which he was confined to instead of the cell. The room, however, had windows and space and light and while Ben didn’t feel any better most days, he wasn’t getting worse. And besides, he liked watching the crew. They came to visit him sometimes, and not just Princesa. Duchess came to ask him about life back home and they talked over tea; Sweetheart and Cabbage came to him to be an unbiased party in a dispute they were having that turned into a a hyper visual reenactment of several events that Ben knew nothing about but enjoyed hearing recanted; Rob consulted him on a matter of finances and then ended up making pleasant conversation over the behavior of the crew, which Rob claimed to find deplorable but Ben suspected he secretly enjoyed having something to complain about. The Pirate King, however, was Ben’s favourite companion. Ben still gave him a hard time – he was still a prisoner aboard The Patriot – but the captain had a charm that Ben admired. He laughed a lot, and Ben never did, and they found a good balance with each other. Ben listened to tales of raiding and plundering, but also of heroism. They rescued and released a handful of abused workers aboard dozens of ships. They gave gold in plenty to the poorest of the people they came across without thinking. These moments were always part of a larger story, and Caleb always passed over then like they were insignificant, like that was just what anyone would have done. But it wasn’t and Ben knew that and he liked those parts of the stories best, though he didn’t say it out loud.

“Do you know how to dance?”

Ben swiveled his head around to face the captain, who had appeared in the doorway to the room at some point when Ben wasn’t paying attention.

“Can I- Yes, of course I can,” Ben stumbled through his words. The captain’s shirt was partly opened, likely to relieve how hot he was from working at the wheel of the ship, where he had been previously. His hair had been tied up, but it was all loose now, curling around his face in dark brown locks. A part of Ben was enamored with the captain’s appearance, but the other part felt disappointed than Ben was dressed in nothing more enchanting than some loose clothes and a red bathrobe that he was borrowing.

“Ah,” the Pirate King hummed.

“Why?” Ben asked. “Did you think I’d need lessons from Duchess. She’s already got her hands full with the rest of poor souls.”

“No,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders in a lazy way. “But… could you teach someone else to dance?” He asked it like he was expecting to hear the words No. It was the first time Ben had seen the captain act somewhat coy.

“You want me to teach some of the crew?”

“I want you to teach me.”

That caught Ben’s attention. He had seen the captain practice a little with Duchess and the others. He did well when he had Duchess instructing him, but he couldn’t seem to remember the steps when he went to dance with anyone else.

“I- Erm… yes. I can do that. If you want.” Ben was stumbling again. The captain smiled and seemed to regain some of his demeanor, then extended a hand to Ben. “Right now?”

“Yes,” the Pirate King laughed. “We’re only two days at most from Barbados. No time like the present.”

Ben hadn’t realized they were so close. Nodding in agreement, he shrugged off the bathrobe and took the captains hand, allowing him to pull him up. They ended up much closer than they needed to be to start the dance, but Ben thought that would be superfluous to bring up, so they stayed that close throughout his instructions. The dances included very little physical contact, at least the ones performed in higher societies. In bars and taverns Ben had seen people dancing remarkably close, with bodies almost touching, but these dances involved feet and arm motions. The captain was excellent at following along and keeping pace, but when Ben asked him to lead he froze and struggled to remember the steps in their correct orders.

“I’m just not finding a pattern that connects the steps,” the captain declared after fumbling another set of moves.

“There really isn’t any pattern besides elimination.”

“Elimination?”

“Logically figuring out what _can’t_ go next as opposed to what _could_ go next,” Ben explained, starting up the dance again from the beginning. “Another method to use is to watch your partner. Most dancers prepare to move before they do. If you pay attention you can tell is someone is going to go left or right and do the same almost at the exact time they do.”

“Like sword fighting!” the captain said.

“I imagine so, yes,” Ben agreed. The captain began to pay much more attention than to Ben’s body, anticipating his moves. While Ben understood why he was doing it, he still felt fragile under the Pirate King’s close watch.

“Are you feeling any better,” the captain asked as they moved in step.

“I’m not feeling worse.”

“That’s a diplomatic answer.”

Ben let himself laugh and the captain laughed with him.

“I still haven’t thought of a nickname for you,” the Pirate King finally said. “Nothing seems to quite suit you.”

“I’m heartbroken.”

“I can tell.”

“You have a gift for ignoring sarcasm,” Ben said.

“It _is_ a gift. Been passed down in my family for generations,” the captain said passively, but the word family came out wrong, like he wasn’t used to saying it.

“Where is your family?” Ben had never been one for subtlety. The captain didn’t seem to like that question. The dance got slower and slower as the quiet encompassed them.

“Oh,” Ben said finally. There was an understanding to be had.

“I lost them when I was 12,” the captain began. “They were hanged as pirates, but that’s not what they were. They were sea merchants and one of their competitors got tired of them outselling him, so they were framed, and hanged, and I was left alone.” He said it all so quickly and matter-of-fact, as though he was explaining how a recipe went, or directions to somewhere. It was a part of his life as much as anything else and he said it as such, and Ben wasn’t sure how to respond.

“So, the Pirate King ordeal?” he finally said. “How did you end up being the thing you lost your parents because of?”

“I didn’t lose my parents because of pirates, I lost them because wealthy men always want to be wealthier and I figured if no one is going to play fair no matter who they are I might as well be ruthless and get rich. If you can be hanged as a pirate for anything, just be a pirate anyway and save yourself some trouble.”

They picked up speed as they danced, following each other’s steps and movements as they continued their conversation. Neither of them noticed an increase in speed since they weren’t paying attention to the dance anyway. They were just moving while they talked, not the other way around.

“Who would you have been if they’d survived?” Ben asked. The Pirate King laughed in a gentle sort of way.

“I would have been Caleb Brewster, son of a wealthy merchant and his wife, and business partner with my father.”

“Caleb,” Ben repeated. The name suited him better than he knew.

“Caleb,” he agreed, nodding curtly. “And who will you be, when you finally get let of this ship?”

“I’ll be Ben Tallmadge, fourth son of a fourth son who wouldn’t have paid any ransom you offered him to get me back.” The words tumbled out of Ben before he could stop them and while Caleb stumbled his footing in the dance upon hearing this, he didn’t stop. He processed what had been said quickly, and his face grew softer.

“Is that why you were so frightened to be here?”

“What does a ship full of pirates do with a hostage whose ransom money never comes?”

This was something the captain evidently hadn’t considered. Someone who has money coming to free them has some fear to hold, but not as much as the person who knows no one is going to pay their way to freedom.

“Did you think we would kill you?”

“I thought I would die in the time you were waiting,” Ben said, and that was true. In the cell below deck he was sure he would die before anyone realized that no money was coming. But when the map was found Ben became certain that he would die before they ever made use of his skills to read the maps. Now, however, he wasn’t sure what would happen. In the captains quarters with food and company he didn’t imagine he would die before the got to Barbados. There, if Caleb was good to his word, he would be released and get the help he needed. But then what? Go home? Go back to father who barely noticed he existed under his healthy and brilliant siblings?

“I told you we weren’t going to let you die,” Caleb said, moving seamlessly around Ben in a difficult double-step.

“No, you said you wouldn’t kill me,” Ben said. “That’s different!”

“You didn’t tell us you were sick.”

“Why would I?”

“Fair enough,” the captain agreed. “But what will you do when we leave you?”

The phrasing of that amused Ben. _Leave him_ , as though he was someone they were visiting.

“I don’t know.” Caleb seemed to understand that. Something playful gleamed in his eye, but he didn’t say anything in response and Ben didn’t ask.

In the silence they finally came to the end of their dance, Ben bowing to Caleb, who decided to make a fool of himself and drop into a deep and wobbling curtsy, full of hand flairs and dramatic head bowing, which Ben laughed at hard enough to have to sit down again. The captain looked pleased, and Ben wondered, for a moment, if his laughter had been the desired result.


	5. Chapter 5

The ship docked two days later, exactly as the Pirate King had said. They docked in the evening and the crew immediately had Ben write a letter to John Simcoe, introducing himself and making Simcoe aware of his presence in the area. Duchess helped him write it, having more experience in the way of getting herself invited to the social gatherings of the wealthy elite. The letter was sent out the same day and everyone simply had to wait until a response came, if one came at all.

The next few days we lazy ones. The ship didn’t have to be sailed or managed so the crew gathered on the deck to play cards, tell stories, and just be around one another. Duchess told the best stories of anyone, reciting tales about events that had occurred from before she joined The Patriot’s ranks. Sweetheart was a wizard at cards, only because she could cheat better than anyone, but it was still a marvel to try and figure out how she did it. Rob discussed items he had stolen or acquired, telling the crew backstories to each one that may or may not have been true, and the crew voted on whether they would buy it given that description. Princesa started for Ben, but continued for everyone else, lessons on speaking Swahili and Somali, which Ben was picking up quickly given his affinity for languages. Cabbage mostly listened to everyone else, adding a story here or there, but generally he just drank and laughed and had a good time. Caleb did much the same, but he spoke mostly to Ben. This was not surprising given how close Ben always made sure to sit by Caleb. He wasn’t sure why he positioned himself so close to the captain. Perhaps he felt safer around him given how much time they were spending together. Whatever the reason was, he kept sitting by Caleb, and Caleb kept accepting him to be so close, and all seemed to be well.

On their third day in Barbados a letter arrived from John Simcoe. The letter was addressed to Benjamin Tallmadge, but it was Caleb who read it aloud to the crew. It stated, quite clearly, that Simcoe was in lack of proper company and would like to have Ben attend a party that evening at his manor.

The crew was up in arms with cheers of delight at how well things were going, and they began to make plans on what to wear and how to act. Princesa disappeared below deck momentarily, then returned with a chest full of expensive clothes for the crew to pick through for what to wear. Caleb, however, took Ben by the wrist and led him back up to his quarters.

“I have my own outfits set aside. I have a few I already picked out for you to try on as well, if you’re interested,” the captain said as they walked. Ben felt his hand getting warm under Caleb’s touch.

“I trust your judgement,” Ben said. It sounded more foolish coming out of his mouth than he had intended, but Caleb smiled anyway. Once inside the room Caleb led the way to his closet, which when opened revealed several fine looking outfits that didn’t quite fit the rest of Caleb’s casual-wear.

“These are for you to try on,” the captain said, handing Ben three outfits. One was more colourful than the others, with a purple shirt and silver threading on the jacket. The second one was a red and black ensemble that kept the pirate aesthetic while adding a sense of class to the attire. The last outfit included a sky blue jacket with gold threading, and a white shirt with white pants to match. It was elegant and simple, and Ben could tell that Caleb already knew which one he was going to choose.

Ben got dressed in a hurry, not used to changing in the same room as Caleb, meanwhile the captain busied himself with picking out his outfit. He took bits and pieces from several pieces to create an outfit themed with black and silver. He wore a black shirt with carefully woven designs on the cuffs, shoulders, and up the buttons in a vibrant silver, and pants tied with a sash that had a silver bird embroidered on it. He looked like a gentleman, but a vivacious one at least.

“You look… very nice,” Ben managed as he rearranged his outfit in the mirror.

“You look wonderful,” Caleb said without hesitation. Ben almost wished he could be like that. Just say what he wanted without any hint of regret. “Let’s see how everyone else made out, shall we?”

To be honest, Ben was rather excited to see everyone dressed up. He imagined all of them would make a fine group when they were all gussied up. Ben was right to believe so, and he saw it when he left the captain’s quarters. From his viewpoint he could see everyone putting the finishing touches on their outfits. They all looked marvelous and Ben felt somewhat at home to see them dressed so fine, but laughing at one another for their apparel.

Princesa stood out the most in her light violet dress with white trim. The dress looked like it had been touched up some to fit her style. The hoop from the skirt had obviously been taken out so the whole dress collapsed around her and moved with her when she walked. The sleeves were cut so they fell off her shoulders and the whole outfit seemed to dance with her movements. Duchess was dressed the finest of anyone, in a vibrant red dress that looked as though it were cut from rubies. The dress was large with more layers than were ever necessary and a wide skirt that encompassed all of the world. The collar was high with a matching corset and the sleeves were fluffy and full. She also had on a plethora of matching red jewelry that screamed of high class and good taste. She looked more lovely, and more content than ever. Sweetheart had on something simpler than the other women. Her dress was a mint green and white, with dark green treading running in patterns across the thin skirt. The collar was low with short sleeves that finished before he shoulder did. She only wore a simple green necklace that looked to be jade in gemstone.

The men were dressed equally nice. Cabbage was matching his wife in a way, with an almost all white outfit that had hints of green in the design. He wore light beige shorts and a pure white shirt, but his jacket was a sort of dirty white that was accented with light green designs on either shoulder and on the tail. He also had a green broach on over his heart that was shaped like an exotic bird. Rob had kept his usual black colour scheme, but he’d dressed the look up a bit with emerald green cufflinks and a matching scarf. The common theme seemed to be keeping true to one’s self while adding a flair to their usual attire, and Ben respected and admired that about all of them. They all knew who they were every second they were alive.

“We don’t look half bad!” the captain laughed. “We should dress like this all the time!”

“Right, and die when I get this skirt caught on a canon!” Princesa shouted back.

“I wear a skirt all the time and I’m fine,” Sweetheart said, brushing her dress down with her hands.

“You clean pretty nice too, Ben,” Cabbage called up as Ben started walking down the stairs. “You and Duchess must feel right at home in all of this.”

“Only as much at home as you feel in all that lettuce green,” Ben threw back.

“It’s Cabbage- You know what, I don’t even care,” Cabbage responded, shrugging his shoulders in a way that looked like he did care. Still, the rest of the crew laughed as they gathered together to head off to Simcoe’s manor. On land Caleb managed to get a horse and carriage large enough to carry all of them, and Ben had to admit they looked incredibly important in their outfits. But even then, it was the mannerisms of Caleb that sold everything they did. He was graceful, and eloquent, but more personable than anything. He laughed and smiled as much as he always did, but this time with the airs and graces of a make-believe social status.

“You’d have gotten along well with my father’s friends,” Ben whispered too close to Caleb’s ear as they sat in the carriage. Everyone else was laughing, using mock accents and wild gestures as they played pretend to be anything but who they actually were.

“I just watch you,” Caleb whispered back, and Ben felt a blush creep up his neck. He couldn’t have meant it the way Ben was inferring, but it was almost fun to inference what he wanted from the phrase.

The drive to Simcoe’s manor wasn’t long, they could have walked if they’d wanted, but that wasn’t the way of things, so they drove up the winding path to the elaborate house. Light poured from every window and the sound of music could be heard the moment Ben stepped out of the carriage. An attendant greeted them and brought them to the door to be greeted by their host, John Simcoe.

“Benjamin Tallmadge, so good to meet you,” Simcoe said as he walked up towards them. “And these must be your travel companions. I’m so glad you informed me of you arrival. I have missed proper company.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” Something about the way Simcoe talked bothered Ben. His letter had sounded sincere, but in person everything about John Simcoe seemed false and grating.

“I don’t have the pleasure of having anyone else in your party’s acquaintance, however,” Simcoe added. He was eyeing the group carefully.

“I’m his personal doctor,” Caleb said smooth as glass. “I’m employed by his family to attend him wherever he goes. The rest are friends of his family, here to help look after him on the journey.”

Simcoe nodded at this and gave a look up and down Ben. Given how pale Ben was, he must have gathered that the story of Ben’s illness was true.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll all have time this evening to get better acquainted, but right now I have other guests to greet. A servant will show you to the dance room.” Simcoe gave a wave, and was off to meet more arrivals. A servant appeared before them and gestures towards a hallway and gave them a wave telling them to follow him.

“Doctor?”  Ben whispered as they walked forward.

“So it won’t be suspicious if I spend the whole night by your side,” Caleb said. Ben felt warm until Caleb continued. “We’re here for the map and I can’t have you wandering off without us. We still need you to read it.”

Ben felt a flair of hot anger simmer over his body. Caleb wanted the map, and that was it. There was nothing Caleb wanted to do with Ben beside have him translate a few sentences on a parchment of paper. He felt like he was back in that cell. He was still, wasn’t he? Still trapped, still held hostage. But what was it that Caleb had said? They had no intention of killing him. As far as Ben could tell they had no intention of hurting him either. So what was he afraid of? What did he have to lose?

He whipped his head around to the rest of the crew, who were subtly craning their neck to look through the doors of different rooms, looking for anywhere a map could be stored.

“They should split up and slip out when we get to the dance room,” Ben whispered to Caleb in reference to the others. “They’ll cover more ground if they fan out and search the house.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Caleb agreed, friendly-like. “We make quite a team Tallmadge.”

Ben rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway while they continued to walk. The dance floor was a flood of lights and sounds as people danced, talked, laughed, and drank absolutely everywhere in the room. Once the servant left the group’s side everyone began to disperse silently and stealthily out of the room. A few of them got held up in leaving as quickly as they wanted because of dance invitations. They all dances surprisingly well given what Ben had seen on the boat. Still, eventually everyone in their party was gone from the room, all except Ben and Caleb who remained in the room to socialize and keep up appearances.

True to his word, Caleb remained near stuck to Ben’s side throughout most of the evening, never leaving Ben alone. He talked and laughed and seemed to not notice any change in Ben’s mood, but Ben saw no reason why he should. Why would anyone care how their prisoner is feeling?

Then, all of a sudden, an opportunity presented itself. A man collapsed to the floor in the corner of the room. There was a bit of hysteria as smelling salts and wine were brought to revive the man. It was apparent to Ben that the man had passed out from having too much to drink, but his wife apparently thought otherwise and began shrieking for a doctor.

“He’s a doctor!” Ben shouted loudly, pointing to the captain. Caleb flashed Ben a look, but he was dragged away by the wailing woman to her husband’s side before anymore could be said. Ben took advantage of that chance and moved quickly towards John Simcoe, who had finished greeting guests and was in the dance room socializing.

“Forgive my interruption,” Ben began when he arrived by Simcoe’s side, “but I must speak with you in private.”

Ben must have seemed flustered, because Simcoe nodded, excused himself, and have Ben follow him to a private room down the hall.

“Is something the matter?”

“Yes,” Ben said in a hurry, then slowed down. He felt like he was going to be sick. He had been so sure about this a few seconds ago, but Simcoe looked like he was so eager to hear what Ben had to say. Still, Ben had no desire to be a prisoner any longer, and Simcoe looked a gentleman, so he continued. “The people with me are not any of my own company. They are a gang of pirates who kidnapped me from my ship on the seas and are holding me hostage at this party in order to obtain a sister map to an Island of Treasure-”

“They have the second map!” Simcoe shouted, apparently ignoring the bit about Ben being kidnapped. He rectified that mishap immediately. “And how dreadful for you. No wonder you’re sickly looking. Well, you’re safe now. I shall take care of these pirates at once and we shall both get what we want out of this evening.”

The air felt tight around Ben’s throat. There was immediate regret at his own confession as Simcoe left the room, likely to get help to arrest the people who were currently scurrying around his house. Caleb had been kind. But it didn’t make up for what he had done! Ben kept telling himself that over and over again. They’ll be hanged, he thought. Do they deserve that? Would Caleb have kept his word? Would he have set him free? Nothing felt so sure and connected anymore.

Gunfire interrupted Ben’s internal monologue. Unable to remain still, Ben ran out the door and into the hallway where servants had rounded up the crew and Caleb who were struggling to escape. None of the crew was armed, however, so the only person who could have shot was Simcoe, who was reloading a pistol as he stood before the crew and in front of a stunned group of dancers who had stepped out to see what was happening.

“What are you doing?” Ben shouted, running until he was almost beside Simcoe.

“They shot at me first!” he said.

“Do we look like we shot first!?” Cabbage cried as he punched the servant holding him in the gut.

“Whatever I say, goes! You’re pirates, after all!” Simcoe sighed easily as he took aim with his gun once again. This time directly at Caleb, who’s back was turned as he kicked and fought. In a second Ben made a choice and bolted towards Caleb, dragging him to the ground as the bullet whipped past Ben, nicking his arm as it went.

“What is this?” Simcoe screamed, taking aim this time at Ben. “You’ve been with them the whole time! Filthy pirate scum!” Ben took off with the rest of the crew down the hallway, going slower than the others on account of his arm. Simcoe was in pursuit but had to reload. The rest of the crew was almost at the door when something caught Ben’s eye through on of the doors. A map on a table! He dashed into the room, but a glint of glass caught his eye. A tableful of medicine sat before Ben as well. Ben could have taken the map and the medicine, but his left arm was occupied trying to stop the blood coming out of his right arm, so he had to make a choice.

“Tallmadge, you filthy liar! Get back here!”

Ben made a choice. He grabbed the map and dashed out of the door, evading another bullet as he made it out the door and raced towards the ship. He began coughing halfway through the journey, but he kept running anyway as Simcoe’s voice and gunfire grew faint from the distance between them. As Ben’s cough got worse he felt a hand grab his good arm and pull him to the ship as the rest of the crew hurried to get her to sail. Caleb dragged Ben onto the deck just as the ship left the dock, but he didn’t stop when they reached there, but instead continued to haul Ben all the way down below deck and all but threw him back in his old cell.

“You sold us out!” Caleb shouted. “You gave us in! We would have all hanged! You know that, don’t you?”

“You kidnapped me!” Ben shouted back, trying to get his breath back. “You have taken me against my will, held me hostage, and have been using me this whole expedition, and what? You expect me to not be angry about it! I have every right to do what I did!”

“But-”

“But nothing! I am a prisoner and I want to go free! Would you do any different?” Ben felt sick in all new ways. His throat was dry from running, his stomach was ill from the excitement; his head hurt from almost everything, and his arm was still bleeding.

“We were going to release you!” Caleb defended, but he knew that argument was weak. Even he couldn’t argue that he would have done different. There was a pause as both men caught their breath.

“I didn’t want you dead, I just wanted my freedom. But you just want me to read that map for you and nothing else. I’m just some temporary facet to your ship who you’ve pretended to care about for all this time, but you don’t! You don’t care about me, or my feelings, or anything at all besides where ever this stupid map leads!” Ben shouted, throwing the map to Caleb, who looked surprised to say the least.

“At least you did something right,” he said under his breath as he began to leave.

“You didn’t!” Ben called after him. “You promised me medicine! We had a deal and you lied to me! You never had any plans to give me anything! Medicine, or freedom!”

The captain walked slower up the stairs. He didn’t seem angry anymore, but Ben couldn’t tell what he was feeling. He just was.


	6. Chapter 6

No one came to visit Ben for a while, and he _did_ mind this time. He wanted company. He wanted to be on the deck, talking with the crew and feeling the air and eating whatever Sweetheart had cooked. Instead he was trapped in a cell that he had put himself in. He had gotten less out of telling Simcoe than what he had started with. The ship had felt like a home, and now it was a prison again. The crew had been something like friends, but Caleb had likely told them all what he had done, and they wouldn’t be anything to him anymore. Caleb hated him, which bothered Ben more than it should have and he couldn’t understand why. He lied to Ben, he had kidnapped Ben, he had put Ben back in a cell, but Ben had liked him. He was charming and delightful and for a while Ben had gotten to just be present in the same space as him. On the sail to Barbados he had felt like he was a crewmember, not a hostage. He was a trusted advisor and listener to everyone. It was such a stark difference to who he was sitting alone in the cell. He wasn’t in there because he was a hostage anymore. He was there for mutiny, of a kind. For treason to the ship. For endangering the crew.

“You look awful.” Princesa had appeared before Ben’s cell.

“Thanks,” Ben mumbled. His voice didn’t work the way it was supposed to. He hadn’t used it to talk in what must have been two days.

“You need to eat this,” she told him as she put down a bowl. She didn’t sound angry with him, but she was cautious. She wasn’t as carefree with her speech as she had been with him before. “And the captain has asked me to do whatever I can to help you get better.”

Ben felt something warm glow in him at those words, but he remembered that they still needed him to read the map and the feeling passed. They couldn’t have him die before he led them to their Island of Treasure.

Princesa visited him every day, at least Ben imagined so, as he was back to sleeping at irregular hours and for long periods of time. The care Princesa was providing was the best she could give, but it wasn’t helping as much as it had before. This time Ben didn’t particularly care if he got better or not.

Within a few days of Ben’s care by Princesa, Cabbage appeared with the maps.

“Are you doing alright?” he asked politely. Ben gave him a look. “Right, sort of figured as much.”

He was also cautious with his words, not sure what to say to the man who had sold him and his friends in to Simcoe. But he and Princesa seemed to understand, upon seeing Ben’s condition, what would prompt him to do it. They had forgotten, up on the deck while speaking with Ben as a friend, that he was still and always their captive. Everything they had done felt almost tainted by that fact.

“If you’re feeling up to it,” Cabbage continued, “we have both maps lined up, and they look like they’re forming complete letters. Could you-”

Ben snatched both maps before Cabbage could finish and held the two together and up to the light. The letters were complete, though the maps took some aligning to get everything in the correct place. Ben read the words out loud carefully as Cabbage re-wrote the words down in a notebook.

“As soon as you get your treasure, I go free,” Ben asked more than demanded as he handed the maps back.

“If it were up to me I’d let you go now,” Cabbage said. “I’ll do what I can with the Pirate King, alright. He’s pretty upset about what you did. He had a lot of trust in you.”

Ben felt his stomach turn, and laid back down as Cabbage left to go above deck. Maybe Caleb was as broken up about what had happened as he was. Despite what had been done to him, Ben had done something rather awful to Caleb and his crew. No, his friends.

“I’m sorry,” Ben heard. He had been asleep for what felt like days. There was barely any light below deck as the sun set on the other side of the ship and Ben felt groggy and tired, despite how long he had been out for.

“Oh?” Ben said, sitting up to face Caleb.

“About the medicine. I did mean to get it for you. I swear I did. I almost went out to get it every day we were docked, but I kept getting distracted and then I thought we’d get it after we got the map because-”

“If you got my medicine first you thought I wouldn’t do what you’d asked me to do?” Ben sighed disappointed.

“Well… Yes.”

“Cabbage said you trusted me. That’s not true at all I guess.”

“I thought,” Caleb started. “I just wanted you to stay longer.” That wasn’t what Ben expected Caleb to say.

“Longer?”

“I was going to offer you a position on the ship. I thought after I got the map I’d get the medicine and, I don’t know, convince you to stay with us.”

“Why would you want me?” Ben asked. “I can’t do anything.”

“You can do lots of things, Ben. You just don’t notice because you’re doing them.”

“Alright. Why would I _want_ to stay?”

“You said it yourself, you don’t know what you’re going to do when we let you go. I thought this was a solution.”

“No,” Ben said. “I can’t do to anyone what’s been done to me. I can’t hurt people for no reason, I can’t kidnap people, and I won’t make promises I won’t keep. I can’t be like you, Pirate King.”

Caleb nodded in understanding, but also his own kind of disappointment.

“We’re going to dock at the nearest port and let you go,” Caleb said as he began to leave. “And I am sorry. For everything. Things weren’t meant to go like this.”

The ship stopped moving a few hours later. Caleb was good on his word this time. Princessa and Cabbage came down to unlock Ben and bring him above deck. The air felt thick and wet, like a storm was coming. The wind was picking up, but Ben didn’t have to care. He would have left this ship behind long before any storms could interfere with his life any further. Princesa and Cabbage held onto Ben the whole time they were leading him to the deck, but Ben was of the understanding that it wasn’t to keep him in line, but to help him stand given how quickly his health was diminishing. On his way towards the dock Ben passed Caleb, who was carefully watching the group the entire time.

“Despite it all, it’s been nice knowing you,” Cabbage said, clapping Ben slightly on the shoulder before stepping back. Princesa touched Ben lightly on the arm before letting him go. Cabbage’s sentiment went both ways. Ben had, against all his better judgement, enjoyed most of his time aboard The Patriot. There was still time to change his mind. He could take Caleb up on his offer and stay. But right then Ben was still angry with him, and angry at himself, and the timing was just all wrong, so he waved good-bye to the crew, even Caleb, and trotted off towards the dock.

The further Ben walked the closer something came to him. A small group of men had leapt out of a carriage and were running towards the dock. Ben wondered what they were in such a hurry for when he recognized a face in the crowd. John Simcoe was leading the group.

“Grab him,” Simcoe shouted once they were close enough to recognize Ben. “Get the others-” he started before taking another look at the ship. The captain and crew seemed to have caught on to what was happening and were heavily armed with at least one gun each, pointed toward Simcoe and his men. In a rush Simcoe grabbed Ben and pressed his pistol up against his head, dragging Ben with him as he walked backwards towards the seaport.

Ben was unceremoniously handcuffed and tossed into a carriage before they drove off as quick as possible.

“Send them a letter. Tell them they have one day to turn themselves and the map in to me or I kill their filthy pirate friend.”

“I’m not a pirate!” Ben shouted. “Up until a few seconds ago I was their hostage! You think they’re going to care that now I’m yours?”

“Shut it,” one of the men shouted, stuffing some unpleasant clothe into Ben’s mouth to keep him quiet while the carriage rode on. Ben couldn’t believe it. He had just gotten free and he’d been almost immediately captured again. In all his life Ben could have never imagined anything that was happening to him occurring anywhere besides in the stories told by drunk men at taverns, and yet here he was, driving away from one captor with another. But in this case, Simcoe was very serious in his threats to kill Ben after one day, while The Patriot’s crew had never threatened him once, despite whatever Ben had inferred from their conversations and his situation. It was too late to wish he had stayed on the ship with the crew. He hadn’t been gone but a few minutes and he missed Caleb. The rest of the crew as well, of course, but especially Caleb. In all his life no one had ever wanted him to stay anywhere with anyone, not his father or his brothers or anyone he had called a friend, and Caleb had offered him a chance to sail with him and the friends he was slowly making and Ben had turned him down. He’d given good reasoning’s as to why, but in the end he knew he’d turned him down because he had discovered that Caleb didn’t care for Ben as much as he cared for him and he’d felt hurt and just wanted to go…somewhere else. He wasn’t sure what the plan was from there besides going to Barbados, but even now that plan sounded useless. If Simcoe hadn’t followed them here he would have been back in Barbados. Ben couldn’t have gone back no matter what he wanted, and that wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own. He’d told Simcoe, he’d put the crew in danger, and he’d ruined his chances with Caleb in one grand gesture. The way Ben figured it though he wouldn’t have much time to lament any of that. Given Simcoe’s current temperament Ben hardly imagined he would last the night, let alone a whole day as they waited for people who weren’t coming. He’d cut his ties with them, and said his good-byes, and no one was coming to help him. It was like he was sailing away from the Saint Maria all over again.

The carriage stopped in the middle of the street before long so Simcoe could quickly jot down a letter to send to The Patriot, one of his men producing a pen, quill, and paper. Simcoe wrote in a sloppy manner, getting ink spots all over the page in his rush to complete his demands. These attempts, however, would be in vain as a crack against the side of the carriage sent the ink bottle spilling across the paper and Simcoe.

The whole carriage went on alert as the carriage shook more and more from the outside. Everyone besides Ben, who was currently immobile, grabbed a gun and readied themselves for whatever was outside the carriage.

“Come out quietly and release Benjamin Tallmadge,” a voice said, but it wasn’t any that Ben recognized. At once all the doors flew open and at least a dozen guns were pointed into the carriage on both sides. Simcoe seemed to debate his odds, then dropped his weapon and stepped outside along with the rest of the carriage, save Ben, who was struggling to understand what was going on, let alone leave where he was sitting.

“Someone uncuff him,” a different voice shouted and Ben saw at last a familiar face. Caleb jumped up into the carriage with a set of keys and began undoing the chains around Ben’s wrists.

“Caleb-” Ben started when his gag was removed, but the captain just kissed Ben on the forehead and helped him out into the sunlight.

“John Simcoe,” the first voice said, which Ben could now recognize as coming from someone who was an officer of the law. “You are under arrest for the kidnaping and ransoming of Benjamin Tallmadge.”

“I didn’t ransom anyone!” Simcoe shouted, angry, but also somewhat confused.

“According to this letter from Benjamin Tallmadge’s father he received a letter of ransom for his son several weeks ago. It’s just a self-centered captain to call himself The Pirate King.”

The pieces were coming together in Ben’s mind.

“I didn’t kidnap him, they did!” Simcoe cried, doing his best to point at the crew of The Patriot, all of whom were presently standing behind Ben and Caleb. The officer turned to face Ben with a question painted across his face.

“This is my personal doctor,” Ben explained, gesturing to Caleb. “And these are friends of my family, here to help look after me on my journey to Barbados to collect medicine.”

“Nice try, Simcoe,” the officer sighed as he turned back to the men under arrest. “Let’s get going,” he continued, ignoring Simcoe’s shouts of protest as him and his men were put in a highly secured prison carriage.

“Thank you for all your help,” Caleb called as they began to leave.

“You’re very welcome,” the officer said politely. “You get him some help now. He looks mighty sick from all of this.” He was referencing Ben, of course, who was equal parts already sick and awestruck, but his illness must have stood out the most. Ben waited until everyone had gone before he started a conversation.

“You came back for me,” Ben said. “Why? Why would you do that?”

“What did you think we were gonna do, leave you to die?” Duchess called back. Ben shrugged in response.

“Listen, maybe you think we’re horribly awful people, but the rest of us are rather fond of you,” Sweetheart said, bumping her shoulder against Ben’s as she started to walk off, and he flashed a small smile. Rob gave a curt nod and Cabbage a wave as they also joined the group in heading back to their ship. Ben turned to see Caleb, but found the captain already gone.

“It was his idea, all of this,” Princesa whispered as she too set off towards the ship. “Up until we watched you get taken, I had never seen the captain get so upset about anything.”

Ben stood a while, watching the crew walk off until he could barely see them in the distance. He found himself hoping Caleb would come back and make his offer again. He didn’t have anywhere to go. His father had sent a letter claiming that his son had been kidnapped, but he certainly hadn’t included any money for the ransom. He had completed the appropriate amount of effort he needed to act like he wanted his son back and that was done. Ben could go to Barbados, he supposed, but Simcoe wouldn’t stay in prison for long, what with his money and statue, and Ben would be back where he started.

The air felt smooth as glass as it glided past Ben. The storm he had felt brewing must have passed and the grey skies had begun to clear. He waited and waited, but no one came back to him but the wind. He’d liked that ship, and that crew, and that feeling of family that he’d never had before, and they had liked him enough to rescue him despite everything he had done to them. That had never happened before.

Then the wind changed directions. It blew Ben onwards, instead of back and before he knew what he was doing he was running towards the dock. Caleb had let him go and he was honoring that. Ben hadn’t told him he wanted to stay, that he loved that stupid ship and the foolish crew and everything about the journey they had taken except the parts that were built of his own regrets.

“Caleb!” Ben called when he got to the dock. The ship was still in the dock, though the crew was make quick preparations to leave. Everyone was aboard the ship completing necessary tasks, save one person who was on the dock watching the water.

“Came to say good-bye?” Caleb asked, a bright smile lining his face. He looked like the word laughter.

“I came to-” Ben began, but started coughing halfway through. “I came to ask if your offer is still available.”

“My…” Caleb trailed off. “You want to stay on?”

“I-” Ben managed between coughs, “I’ve never had a family before, not one that mattered anyways. But I’ve enjoyed this crews company more than any in my life and if they are willing to put up with me and all my grievance’s than I am happy to join them. I can’t do much, but I can read and translate quite a few languages and that aided you once before. And I…”

“And you…?”

“I missed you and you hadn’t even left yet,” he said, and he felt shaken to the core. He was saying an awful lot in an awful short amount of time, but between his coughing fit and ship preparing to leave he didn’t have much time.

“I’ll make you deal,” the captain said, his eyes alive with colour. “You survive until we reach the Island of Treasure, and you can stay with us as long as you like.”

Ben broke a smile and without thinking threw his arms around Caleb, who pulled Ben in even tighter.

“Just fucking kiss him, you stupid animal!” Duchess called from the ships mast, and Ben noticed the whole crew leaning over the rails wherever they were to watch the two of them. Ben was going to try and give a casual retort back that claimed he hoped she was referring to Caleb and not him, but that question was answered when Caleb grabbed both sides of Ben’s face and closed the gap between them.

The kiss was long, and sweet, and Ben forgot to breathe for most of it, but he didn’t care. Caleb didn’t seem to either, and kept going with it until Cabbage called out:

“Alright, alright, we have to be going. You can pick this up again on the deck.”

“When we get you some medicine,” Caleb whispered once they had separated and were headed up the ramp, “I’ll kiss you proper.”

“And how do you kiss someone properly?” Ben asked.

“Usually in a bed. But I’ll take a table if you’re up for it.”

Ben chocked out another flurry of coughs.


	7. Chapter 7

Ben was confined to the captain’s quarters for most of the journey, but not for any reason besides the sake of his health. For the first month of the trip he did alright, the same as he had when they were traveling to Barbados. He and Caleb spent as much time together as they could, and Ben made trips out onto the deck as often as he could to talk with the rest of the crew. Princesa did her best to keep Ben in a stable condition and all was as it should have been.

The second month was harder. Ben got to the point where he couldn’t leave Caleb’s room without assistance, and while Caleb was happy to carry Ben everywhere, he couldn’t hide that he was worried. Everyone was. They docked twice to look for medicine for Ben, and while they collected some items that were of use, nothing was exactly what he needed.

“I guess I’m not a real part of the crew unless I make it to the Island of Treasure,” Ben mumbled as Caleb sat down beside him on the bed.

“Well then, you just have to hold on until then,” Caleb said back. He was trying to stay light, but slips of worry littered his words.

“You shouldn’t sit so close,” Ben had said sometimes.

“I haven’t gotten sick yet, and I’ve had my tongue down your throat. I think I’m alright,” he’d respond and keep doing whatever he was doing. When Ben could move they would dance, but now Ben just reached for Caleb’s hand whenever he was present.

The rest of the crew was also unconcerned with their own health and came to visit him frequently. Princesa had helped him as much as he could, and Ben listened to her stories about her homeland. Rob and Cabbage had come a few times to settle a disagreement they were having that always ended in a game of dice. Duchess and Sweetheart visited as well, to tell and hear stories and give updates on how close they were getting.

Two months, two weeks, and three days after they had left port from where Simcoe was arrested they saw an island too small for anyone to find if they weren’t looking for it.

“We found it,” Caleb whispered gently as he popped his head into the room. “I’ll come back and tell you what we found.”

Like that the crew was gone for at least two hours to explore the island and find, hopefully, what was promised to them. Ben tried to sleep, but he was just as excited as the crew must have been, so he was wide awake when Caleb returned to him.

“I want you to see what we dug up,” Caleb said when he entered the room. He picked Ben up without objection and carried him down the ramp towards land. Ben coughed at the light, and the wind, and the sand, but he was thrilled that they had found something. He expected to see chests of gold and riches, but his eyes caught no glitter as they traveled down. Instead, as they got closer, he saw chests overflowing with books.

“An Island of Treasure,” Caleb said, setting Ben down on a rock to go pick up on of the books and had it to Ben. Looking it over Ben saw what he meant.

“These are books of medicine,” he mumbled.

“They all are,” Princesa said. “And they come with samples.” With that she popped the lid off one of the closed chests to reveal layers upon layers of different vials full of medicine.

“Are you ready finally feel better?” Rob called to Ben as he compared a vial he had selected with a picture in a book he was holding. Ben felt warm all over.

“But it was a waste,” he said suddenly. “There’s no treasure, it’s just medicine. It’ll help me, for sure, but you wasted so much time for nothing.”

Caleb laughed like he could encompass the whole of the world.

“We were promised treasure, and that’s what we got. We can steal as many jewels and chests of gold of any ship we want, but this- all of this- is better than anything we’ve ever gotten. We have the power to help a lot of people.”

“You’re going to sell it?” Ben asked.

“We’re going to share it,” he responded. “Maybe we have enough gold and jewels and it’s time to use this ship to spread some hope instead of fear.”

“You’d have to give yourself a new nickname,” Ben laughed. “Can’t be The Pirate King who isn’t a pirate anymore.”

“I absolutely can be, Tallboy.”

“Please don’t,” Ben tried to say before anyone else heard.

“Tallboy, try this one,” Cabbage said when he came over with a vial.

“I hate you,” Ben mouthed to the captain as he accepted the foreign medicine. Caleb just smiled, then waved for the crew to carry everything onboard.

“You could help,” Sweetheart muttered as she carried two chests onto the ship.

“I’ve got my hands full!” Caleb called as he scooped Ben back up into his arms. Ben laughed and smiled, and didn’t stop, even after they had set sail again. He had survived until the Island of Treasure and he had been rewarded with exactly what he needed to get better. He was going to survive, and so were a lot of people they were going to help.

“I love you,” Ben said as soft as he could one night, when they were docked at another foreign port.

“I love me too,” Caleb had replied, and leaned over to kiss Ben again.

“I want to hear you say it,” Ben said, putting his hand over his own mouth to deny Caleb any permission.

“Did I ever give you any impression that I didn’t love you, Benny.”

Ben sighed. He could live with that one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! This has been an exciting adventure to write! I still have 4 other Tallster AU's I'm in the process of writing, so you'l all see me again soon, I'm sure. I hope you enjoyed reading this story at least half as much as I loved writing it! May we meet again


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